Tour Menu
GO AHEAD, BOOK A TOUR! YOU WON'T BE SORRY!
---A note on pricing. All tours are priced by the vehicle, and not per person. ---
Hourly Rate: $140
ALL TOURS HAVE A MAXIMUM CAPACITY OF 6 PASSENGERS
Private, Small Group, Custom Experience
ALL TOURS ENTER CANADA. PASSPORTS ARE REQUIRED
US CITIZENS CAN USE MILITARY ID OR THE ENANCED DRIVER'S LICENSES ISSUED IN SOME STATES
ALL TOURS PASS THROUGH BOTH CANADIAN AND USA CUSTOMS
"The Classic" Emerald Lake 7 Hour Tour
This is my most popular tour! We leave from Skagway to climb White Pass. In a short distance, we'll journey from a temperate rainforest, through the sub-alpine, and into the interior boreal forest. On the way, we'll see beautiful waterfalls, and jaw-dropping scenery.
This is a very special place. This mountain range is the second-highest Coastal Mountain Range in the world. There are very few routes into the interior which give access to the Yukon River headwaters, and White Pass along with Chilkoot Pass, were the focal point of the Great Klondike Gold Rush, which began in 1896.
The summit area is other-worldly, with tiny stunted trees and enormous boulders dropped when the glacial ice melted, just 10 thousand years ago, and dozens of hanging glaciers. Past the border we follow a chain of narrow lakes, the ultimate headwaters of the Yukon River. If guests wish, we can stop at the Yukon Suspension Bridge, a nice roadside attraction featuring a class 5 whitewater river.
Further up, we pass Lake Tutshi , surrounded by soaring mountains and breathtaking vistas. It is here that we often see Mountain Goats on the peaks. Past that, it's the Yukon border, at 60 degrees north latitude.
We then hug the shoreline of the Windy Arm of Lake Tagish and the Venus mine.
The landscape on Montana Mountain shows a great deal of evidence of another minerals "rush" from the early days of the 20th century. Bove Island is next, and another great photo stop. Next is the village of Carcross, Yukon Territory, rich in native tradition with several world class totems, and two nice spots for lunch. Just North, we see the Carcross Desert (Yes, a desert in the Yukon Territory!) Known locally as the "Smallest Desert in the World", it's a fun place to take our shoes off on nice days. Our turnaround point is the incredible Emerald Lake.
After that, it's back to Skagway, with a stop or two to stretch.
$980 plus 5% local sales tax
MAXIMUM 6 GUESTS
PLEASE BRING YOUR PASSPORTS!
PASSPORTS REQUIRED
Full Day Emerald Lake tour with HUSKIES!
This tour follows the exact same route as the Classic, with one difference, Huskies!
Just north of Carcross, Yukon Territory, is Caribou Crossings Trading Post. At CCTP, visitors have the unique opportunity to see Alaskan Husky puppies, or if the guests wish, we can take cart rides (no snow in summer!), with professional mushers, keeping their dogs in shape for the famous Iditarod race, or the lesser-known, but more challenging Yukon Quest, and many other races. These dogs are true athletes, and they have a LOT of energy! Rides are 15 minutes long, behind teams of around 14-16 happy dogs, making money for dog food (they eat up to 15,000 calories per day when racing!) and staying in shape over the summer season. CCTP also has a world-class taxidermy museum, where you can get a close look at all the animals, SAFELY.
Price for a 15 minute ride is $45 (Canadian)
Price for the 30-minute experience, which includes a presentation about long-distance Husky racing: $62.50 (Canadian)
To avoid a crowd, we always try to get to Caribou Crossings ahead of most other tours, for a better experience, plus, the dogs have more energy first thing in the morning! So, we drive by some of the stops we would normally make in the morning, and hit them on the way back. On nice days, it’s fun to pick up lunch at Caribou Coffee in Carcross. My friend Heike Graf makes delicious baked goods, soup, sandwiches, and pizza, which we can get as a take-away, and enjoy our lunch alongside either Lake Tagish, or Lake Tutshi. I know some nice spots for picnics.
$980 plus 5% local sales tax
Husky Cart Rides $34/person additional
MAXIMUM 6 GUESTS
BRING YOUR PASSPORTS, PLEASE !
PASSPORTS REQUIRED
awwww, and puppies too?
Emerald Lake Photographer's Tour
This tour goes a bit slower, as we search out some great photo opportunities. If you're a photographer in a group of non-photographers, no problem, I can make if fun for everyone, even with smartphones. Up on the spectacular Klondike Highway, there's something for everyone, and it also depends on the day, and the weather, and of course, the light.
I am a professional photographer. For several seasons I worked as a Photo Tour Guide here in Skagway and also in Haines, Alaska.
I have been a photographer since the age of 14. I learned darkroom skills when in high school, and later took some "artsy" photography classes while studying at University, in Washington State. All of the photos you see here on this site were taken by me, with the exception of a couple of shots of myself.
I have hundreds of thousands of images from all over the world!
Please, bring your owner's manual with you! Also, spare memory cards, and an extra battery often come in very handy.
You might know a lot more than me, and in that case, I'll shut up, and just show you some beautiful opportunities to capture some amazing images. Even if it's just an iPhone, I can show you some very fun techniques! If you do bring your iPhone for the tour, please download the app SNAPSEED, it's free, and one of my favorite editing apps for the phone.
The Photography Tour can be done on the other tours as well, ask for details.
$640-$1120 plus 5% local sales tax
DURATION: 7 hours (or less, minimum 4 hours)
MAXIMUM 6 GUESTS
PLEASE BRING YOUR PASSPORTS
Hiking Tours
"See what's just off the road, let's go!
This area is an absolute paradise for hiking.!We can hit 3-4 of my favorite spots, which will vary depending on the weather you choose to bring with you.
I’ve found that when it’s a beautiful sunny day, one of my guests will inevitably say:
WE BROUGHT IT WITH US ! (you always say that, but rain is my fault)
I'm not talking about scaling mountains here, but I do know quite a few nice spots, often not too far from the highway, where it's a completely different world!
If you want to hike in the sub-alpine, it's not too hard to get to some jaw-droppingly awesome panoramas. Quite a few people have taken this one, and everybody says it's one of the high points of their vacation.
$140/hour , minimum 5 hours
MAXIMUM 6 GUESTS
PASSPORTS REQUIRED
HALF-DAY TOURS
Suggested min. 4 hours, depending on date
Don't want to spend the whole day on tour? No problem! In a 3-5 hour trip, we can accomplish quite a lot, depending on what you want to do. Some days are busier, we can get up to 4 mega ships per day! On those days, I prefer to do shorter tours in the afternoon.
The afternoons can be really nice, different light on the mountains for photography, and sometimes the wildlife comes out after it cools off a bit. Lots of ships are in late, and we have some very long daylight hours in our summer schedule!
Please contact me regarding your day in Skagway, and I'll do everything possible to work it out. Hourly rate is the same, $140/hr
MAXIMUM 6 GUESTS
PASSPORTS REQUIRED
The "who doesn't love a picnic tour"
"Outdoor food is always better" --My Mom, Doris
There are several establishments both in Skagway, and in Carcross, Yukon, that will prepare a nice picnic lunch for us. Then, we take it someplace amazing, and…EAT IT!
Depending on the weather, I can find a spectacular place to enjoy our picnic. Bonus feature, very few ANTS!
$140/hour , minimum 5 hours
PASSPORTS REQUIRED
Build Your Special Day
Nothing is set in stone. If you want to go to Emerald Lake on a 5 hour tour, I can do it, with less stops, and no lunch break in Carcross
On a 4 hour tour, we can get as far as the Yukon border (50 miles) or a bit farther, depending on stops
On a 3 hour tour, we can see the White Pass area, and go as far as Canadian Customs at Fraser BC. We could go a bit farther, or come back to Skagway and see a beautiful waterfall, which is behind our historic Gold Rush Cemetary.
Whatever you would like to do!
$140/hour plus 5% sales tax
3 hour minimum
8 hour maximum
PASSPORTS REQUIRED
Sharpen your skills! All cameras welcome!
SOME THINGS I HAVE SEEN AT THE "OFFICE" (GREAT OFFICE)
On the busiest days, Skagway hosts 4 enormous cruise ships, with up to 15,000 people dropping in for the day.
Get out-of-town in the morning, and come back and see Skagway.
You owe it to yourself to see what's going on up over the mountains. It's a different world! Often warmer and sunnier than the coastline. Come on up!
And this is what it's like out-of-town!
We will go slower, and make lots of stops.
Escorted World Travel
Is there some place on this globe that you really want to see, but, well, you're, uh, "unsure" (concerned, reluctant. ok AFRAID), to jump on a plane and just GO? Are you a busy CEO with limited time for either planning or taking a long trip?
Let's go to Cambodia, and climb ancient temples at Angkor Wat!
Gasp for air at Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes!
Experience the Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand!
Sail the Irawaddy River from Mandalay, Burma like Kipling!
Find our way out of The Medina at Fez, Morocco!
Ride the rails around India! See the Taj Mahal at dawn!
Colombia is AMAZING, don't be afraid, I used to live there!
Mexico has places so beautiful and mellow, you won't want to leave!
Street Food? I know where the best Street Food in the world lives!
People, let's get to work on that BUCKET LIST, life is short!
I've done it, with a guidebook, and a plane ticket, without any reservations, and for my first 10 years of travel, no credit card either.
I've adapted, these days, and for your experience, we wil plan everything out.
OR, not plan anything, just go, and wing it. I have the skills, a couple of extra languages, and I am "Street Smart"
If I haven't been there yet, I will research everything, find local contacts, and it will be AMAZING.
I can guarantee, without any reservation, that this type of trip will change you, change your life, and change the way you live the rest of your life.
Let me make the arrangements, according to your desires and budget, and have the experience you never, ever dreamed you'd EVER have.
Price: It depends on the PLAN
I have a gallery of suggestions below, please enjoy!
IF YOU DON'T DO IT, YOU NEVER WILL HAVE DONE IT
"A man can never truly call himself a Great Man unless he has walked on the Great Wall"
--Chinese Proverb
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"It was raining hard when I awoke, but I made up my mind to disregard the weather, put on my dripping clothing, glad to know it was fresh and clean.
I tied my mountain shoes, tightened my belt, shouldered my ice-axe, and, thus free and ready for rough work, pushed on, regardless as possible of mere rain."--John Muir
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"Tom, remember this: You should always do everything you can, and experience everything you can."
--Tim Bean, a Student Teacher in my high school 1977
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"Expect Nothing, be prepared for
EVERYTHING"
--Dan-O "Zulu" Rogers
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"At the Center of the Earth, things are very different."
--Chris "Omega" Voigt
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"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.
I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain."
---Roy Batty--Nexus 6 Replicant (Blade Runner)
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